Daddy Lumba Not In My ‘Class’ – Kojo Antwi

Music maestro, Kojo Antwi has explained that as much as Daddy Lumba is a great musician, he is not in his ‘class’. According to him, his exploits as a musician puts him on a higher pedestal than Daddy Lumba.

Recently, there has been numerous debates on social media as to who is bigger between two of Ghana's biggest music acts; Daddy Lumba and Kojo Antwi.

While he notes that such comparisons are unnecessary, the music maestro believes that he has done more to put him above Daddy Lumba.

Speaking on the Weekend Warmer on Joy FM with DJ Black, the ‘Dadie Anoma’ hit singer said, “they should have had this debate ten years ago.”

He explained that, “Daddy is a great musician, he’s inspired me a lot, we were meant to be here at this time but for me I think, if you listen to what I do, the kind of shows I do and the rest.

"I think when it comes to comparison, I’m not saying Daddy Lumba doesn’t deserve to be there, but I think my target as being with the Angélique Kidjo, Salif Keita, Youssou N'Dour, [I am way up]. If you don’t achieve that, you will fall in between.”

Apart from the numerous Ghanaian awards, he has won two Kora Awards and he is the first Ghanaian to be nominated for the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in 2010. With 22 albums to his credit, the musician and current Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), has been busy in the studio recording a new 14-track album. The album will be released during the first quarter of 2017.

One of the songs Ghanaian should expect from the new album is his collaboration with Dancehall act, Stonebwoy. “I spoke to Stonebwoy three days ago, there is a track called ‘Akyekyede3 Nante3’ and I believe he will do great on that.”

Like the story of Jonah, Kojo Antwi, who dropped the name Julius because of his believe for African names, couldn’t run away from the fact that he was born to do music. As a kid, he was fond of imitating some music greats including Nana Kwame Ampadu.

For his music inspiration, he revealed that he is inspired by “everything that happens around me” and interestingly, he hardly listens to his songs because “Every time I listen to the songs it’s like you will hear something you wished could have been done better.”

Kojo Antwi does not only sing, he can also play instruments like keyboard, guitar, drums and does the compositions himself. He, however, works with a team for the productions.

Asked why he doesn’t show his face on his album covers, the music maestro explained that he believes “Too much exposure can hurt your brand” and therefore does not use his image on his albums.

He urged entertainment personalities to control what they put out in the public domain.

When DJ Black sought to find out what his favourite song out of his impressive catalogue is, Kojo Antwi said “my best is yet to come”

The music maestro listens to a lot of Ghanaian artistes because “I hear a lot of me in a lot of the young ones. When I was coming up, I refused to be boxed,” he explained his desire to be unique.

He believes that “We need varieties, we have to allow them [current musicians] to be what they are.”